Word Witch Wednesday - the mad science of book covers (part 1)

I've spent a lot of time creating book covers this year. I put as many hours into them as I did writing the first drafts! Maybe I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, but readers do judge books by their covers. It is the first thing that needs to grab their attention.

I'm going to share with you my process over the next few months, and end with the reveal of the first three Totem covers.

The first important thing you need to do before you start creating is know your genre. This is vital. The cover will need to declare where your book fits. If it has a sub-genre, be aware of that too.

My genre: the Totem series is urban fantasy. My sub-genres: there is a strong element of romance, and the protagonists are shifters.

Once you have your genre, it's research time. Google makes it very easy. Do an image search and compare several covers of books in your genre. What are the common elements? What makes some covers stand out from the others? What makes you want to pick up a book?

Urban fantasy cover common elements:

- urban background at night. Usually cityscape or forest.

- protagonist the central feature. Typically ready to fight. And nobody smiles. (Seriously. It's like smiling is against the law on urban fantasy covers!)

- dark colors, sometimes misty, to create an ominous atmosphere.

- books in a series need to share a common look.

Sub-genre common elements:

- a little bit of sexiness for the romance. But not the oh-la-la type!

- the animal or a hint of the animal the protagonist can shift into.

Optional:

- silhouetted villain/danger lurking in the background.

- silhouetted love interest lurking being protective in the background. In human or animal form.

What makes me want to pick up a book? A protagonist that looks unusual. Not your typical beauty with a sword or tattooed beefcake. A background that tells a story as much as the character featured. A hint of brilliant color along with the dark and mysterious colors.

A big order, but I'm determined to fill it.

Next post on the mad science of book covers: your general concept.

P.S. I'm calling this the "mad science" of book covers because piecing the elements together is science. Yet there is something magical in making it all come together as a whole. An awesome cover artist is a little mad with the magic, and that's what makes their art stand out.

Wicked Wednesday - Critiques (part 1): the beginning

In case you haven't heard yet, the lovely Cecilia Robert and I have revealed our surprise blogfest: MORE THAN JUST A KISS. Sign up and share with us a kissing scene. Along with two marvelous guest judges - Kyra Lennon and Laurelin Paige - we'll be judging the scenes and picking three to win. We will then critique a kissing scene from your latest WIP.

No one does a critique the same way. There are those that pick up on details that others do not, and critics that manage to find plot holes where everything seemed tied together so nicely. Some have a system and order to their critique, and others just dive right in with everything. This is why it's important to have more than one critique partner.

I've learned a lot from my critique partners and from critiquing other writers' stories. I have a system of sorts. I always read it first as a reader. Just for the pure enjoyment of the tale. That way I won't get distracted by the story as I'm critiquing.

The first thing I keep in mind when I'm starting a critique is the specific genre. All romances must have the relationship central to the plot. I'm going to use various sub-genres of romance as examples:

Paranormal romance - must have elements of the paranormal central to the plot

Romantic suspense - the mystery must drive the plot along with the romance

Historical romance - the accuracy of the historical setting and how it affects the romance

Contemporary romance - the romance and how it's affected by the other modern issues the author weaves into the plot

The genre identifies your target audience. You don't need to stick to a specific formula, but if the story is lacking in the key elements of its intended genre, it will fail. If I'm critiquing a romantic suspense, and the mystery limps along as a subplot, I'm going to suggest ways to bring it to the forefront, make it stronger, and integrate it into the central plot. In another manuscript, the mystery of how the hero traveled back in time might not be as important as what's happening in the time period he did end up in, and I won't suggest spending time on something that's mysterious yet not integral to the central plot.

Over the next month, I'll be talking about various parts of my critiquing process. Please feel free to tell us how you go about critiquing in the comment section below. I'd love to hear if you have any tips or tricks!

How do you begin the critiquing process?